For the first time since Gujarat was formed in 1960, the Congress party declined to field a single candidate for the Rajya Sabha — and the state, having given them exactly 12 of 182 Assembly seats, agreed this was reasonable.
When Shaktisinh Gohil's Rajya Sabha term expires on June 21, Congress' 66-year run of upper-house representation from Gujarat ends without a fight. With only 12 MLAs in a 182-seat Assembly, the party did not have the votes to win — so it chose not to try. The BJP, holding 161 seats, will elect all four of its nominees and occupy all 11 Rajya Sabha seats allotted to Gujarat simultaneously. Congress spokesperson Dr. Manish Doshi attributed the withdrawal to the party's belief in “principled decision-making.” BJP veteran Arjun Modhwadia said Congress has gone from a movement to a party to “gradually becoming an NGO.” This marks the first time since the state's formation on May 1, 1960 that Congress did not field a single Rajya Sabha candidate from Gujarat. The state that produced two of India's Prime Ministers will now send zero opposition voices to Parliament's upper house. Both sides appear to have found this arrangement satisfactory.